Guest wrench Posted July 31, 2009 #1 Posted July 31, 2009 I just completed the muffler swap, Bub's to HD's, and the right side is popping now as soon as I decellerate. I was used to the Bub's crackling and popping during decel, but this is worse now, and almost exclusively on the right side. I am going to change the plugs, still running the factories @ 15k. I did notice the right side seemed to be running richer as there was some faint black smoke when I started it up and ran it after the muffler install. I did knock the plugs out of the HD's, but the Bub's were running with no packing in them. It doesn't "feel" like there is as much exhaust coming out of the HD's as there was the Bub's though. I even checked all the exhaust clamps just to be sure I didn't have any leaks. Just kind of stumped as to what has changed. My AIS is still operational too. Thanks in advance,,,,.
Magnawake Posted July 31, 2009 #2 Posted July 31, 2009 My Bub's pop like a pop corn machine on steriods on the decel expecially going down hill. I cant imagine any worse popping. Maybe mine doesnt have any filling either. I just bought this RSV last month from the original owner. I wonder how you tell if the Bub has the stuffing inside?
Squidley Posted July 31, 2009 #3 Posted July 31, 2009 1st thing I would say is make sure all your vaccume lines are in good shape. 2nd would be to plug the AIS, I had a lot of popping on my '99 and discovered that I had forgot to completely seal one of the vaccume lines when I removed the AIS
Guest wrench Posted July 31, 2009 #4 Posted July 31, 2009 Well I'd been planning on plugging the AIS, just waiting til the warranty was out, which was in April. I've checked all the lines I can see and get to and they all seem fine. Magnawake, my Bub's sounded like that from day one, and I liked the sound. I found mine only had a very small amount packing left when I changed the tips the first time at around 5k miles.
1BigDog Posted July 31, 2009 #5 Posted July 31, 2009 2nd would be to plug the AIS, I had a lot of popping on my '99 and discovered that I had forgot to completely seal one of the vaccume lines when I removed the AIS OH boy...your gonna get it now!!!!!!!! Actually, the dealer will never know that you plugged the AIS unless you tell them. If you remove the system while under warranty then you would have a problem.
Reaney in NH Posted July 31, 2009 #6 Posted July 31, 2009 My Bub's pop like a pop corn machine on steriods on the decel expecially going down hill. I cant imagine any worse popping. Maybe mine doesnt have any filling either. I just bought this RSV last month from the original owner. I wonder how you tell if the Bub has the stuffing inside? My Bubs didn't pop at all... EVER!! Poping is usually caused by a leak. Its sucking air on decel.
Sylvester Posted July 31, 2009 #7 Posted July 31, 2009 That is what you get for mixing HD parts with a fine metric machine!!! No one cares what kind of noise I make on the farm!
BigBoyinMS Posted July 31, 2009 #8 Posted July 31, 2009 That is what you get for mixing HD parts with a fine metric machine!!! ! You haven't heard? H-D's are mostly metric machines these days!
G7mag Posted July 31, 2009 #9 Posted July 31, 2009 :banana:I just made the switch yesterday from factory to HD muffflers. I went with FLH mufflers instead of the standard roadking's. No popping on decelleration on mine. All I can say is SWEEEEET!!! It doesn't sound like a standard HD. It reminds me more of the sound of a formula firebird I had back in the early 80's with hooker headers and thrush mufflers. Nice deep on idle but wow when you get after it. We always ride with ear plugs and the wife said she doesn't mind the sound going down the highway at all. She just loves the way people look at us in town.
Guest wrench Posted August 1, 2009 #10 Posted August 1, 2009 No more poppin' here!! $2.08 worth of rubber plugs from Lowes in the AIS took care of it,(for now), until this winter when I can take it down and have plenty of time check all the lines. I REALLY like the sound of the H-D's. I added a couple more pics to my gallery of the magnificent engineering feat accomplished on the rear bracket. Actually, I'm waiting on my son to bring a couple of pieces of stainless by tonite after work to finish it, but I just HAD to get it out and try it. Y'know, you laugh about the metric thing, but the original HD clamps had metric nuts, and the V-Twin clamps I used had metric socket heads, but the two bracket bolts on top of the mufflers were 1/2" heads. Go figger!!! Thanks to all for the help!
flb_78 Posted August 1, 2009 #11 Posted August 1, 2009 1st thing I would say is make sure all your vaccume lines are in good shape. 2nd would be to plug the AIS, I had a lot of popping on my '99 and discovered that I had forgot to completely seal one of the vaccume lines when I removed the AIS rut roh....Goose will be here soon.
V7Goose Posted August 1, 2009 #12 Posted August 1, 2009 rut roh....Goose will be here soon. Yeah, I'm here, but I don't care. He has something significantly wrong with his bike, but he is happier just burying it in the sand. If you can't hear it, it doesn't exist, right? That's his business. One of my problems (and I've got a lot), is I'm stupid and make too many attempts to help people who don't want to be helped. I'm trying to reform. Goose
Guest wrench Posted August 1, 2009 #13 Posted August 1, 2009 Goose, I'm not trying to provoke, or say that you are stupid for trying to help. IF you had read all my post you would see that I did not find anything obvious, AND I DID CHECK. I just don't have the time right now to take it apart to check every nut and bolt. I apologize if I stepped on anyones toes with this post as I do appreciate all the info and the help I've gotten from here, and was merely passing on what I had found with MINE. But the bottom line is that it IS my bike, my business, and I choose to make the decisions surrounding it. I know I'm not a big poster here, but does that make me a bad person? If it does please let me know.
Squidley Posted August 1, 2009 #14 Posted August 1, 2009 I'm trying to reform. Goose Trying to reform....yeah right Wrench, you didn't step on any toes, Kent is a very ambitious person who is anal on many things....but we love him just the same You post up any questions you have whenever you have them, it's all good my friend!
Guest wrench Posted August 1, 2009 #15 Posted August 1, 2009 I appreciate it Squidley, but "ambitious and anal" I can handle. I had a similar experience with the air injection system on the Suzuki Volusia that I had. That was a flawed setup too if you did anything to the exhaust system or the air cleaner. The AIS, or PAIR valve as Suzuki calls it don't handle too much "tweakin". This ain't my first rodeo around the motorcycle forum world either. Thanks!!
V7Goose Posted August 1, 2009 #16 Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) Goose, I'm not trying to provoke, or say that you are stupid for trying to help. IF you had read all my post you would see that I did not find anything obvious, AND I DID CHECK. I just don't have the time right now to take it apart to check every nut and bolt. I apologize if I stepped on anyones toes with this post as I do appreciate all the info and the help I've gotten from here, and was merely passing on what I had found with MINE. But the bottom line is that it IS my bike, my business, and I choose to make the decisions surrounding it. I know I'm not a big poster here, but does that make me a bad person? If it does please let me know. Hey Mr. wrench, don't get your panties in a wad here! I didn't even respond to your post or your problem. I DID read it all, and it seemed pretty clear you already had your mind made up, so like I said, I'm trying to reform. And you certainly did not step on MY toes. Like you said, you get to make your own decisions. But many people here know that I have strong feelings about disconnecting the AIS. So when one of them implied that they would soon be subjected to one of my soap-box speeches, I thought I'd calm their fears. I do think it is wrong and irresponsible to unnecessarily pollute our air, especially when you get no value from doing so, but many people disagree with me. In addition, I know that the AIS actually provides some significant unintended value by letting you know there is something wrong with your bike, but many people don't care about that, either. When someone here actually WANTS help with this problem, I'll do my best. Such as the guy recently sent me a PM on it - he actually got "lucky" - he wanted to just disconnect his AIS and ignore it, but that didn't work (that was the lucky part). Since his problem turned out to be a damaged header gasket instead of a vacuum leak, bad coil, misadjusted carb, etc., disconnecting the AIS didn't help him, so he was actually forced to look further and fix the real problem. I let him know the likely causes and where to look, and it was a simple fix. Oh, and in my opinion, there is nothing "flawed" about the the AIS on these bikes - it works perfectly, provides a significant reduction in unburned hydrocarbons, and the bike will NOT pop or afterfire if there is not a problem with something else in the combustion process. But that's just my opinion. Anyway, thanks for inviting me to get on my soap box again! And you just keep ridin' and making whatever decisions about your own bike that you like, Goose Edited August 1, 2009 by V7Goose added comment
Magnawake Posted August 1, 2009 #17 Posted August 1, 2009 Well now I guess I need to think about saving the planet and not stepping on anyones toes. ...... I just got through watching whale wars, sorry. You guys are way more experienced than I am, which makes this site a wealth of information. NOW What the Heck is an AIS? and where is it located ? Maybe I can try to plug it up and just see if it works. If it doesnt, then try something else. BTY, what do ya repack a Bub with? I have the original pipes and tried to put them back on, but the Bubs were stuck. So that means I'll have trouble filling or repacking. Maybe I should buy some ear plugs and forget it. Oh yeah, one other thing, my bike sounds like a Mustang GT when I get on the throttle. Going through a tunnel on the BRP, it sounded like I was at a drag strip. Pretty cool I must say,,,
V7Goose Posted August 1, 2009 #18 Posted August 1, 2009 Temporarily plugging the AIS (must do both front and rear air intake hoses) is a valid test to determine if the popping is being caused by a combustion problem or an exhaust leak. If the problem goes away, you have a problem with either your fuel mixture or your spark, if it does not, you have an exhaust leak. I find loud pipes obnoxious to all around them (no matter if they are on a bike or a car), so I have no personal experience with how open mufflers affect the RSV. However, in general, it is doubtful that enough fresh air could be sucked in from the end of the long pipe to cause the afterfire. A leak at the Y pipe CAN cause it, but not real bad. If the bolts that plug the exhaust gas analyzer ports are missing, or the header clamps are loose/header gasket damaged, it will be very bad. Mufflers that are DESIGNED to be packed (they used to be called glass-packs, but I haven't heard that term much in a while) have a removable central baffle that can be wrapped with a special fiberglass packing material that you can get from many performance shops. The "glass" breaks down relatively quickly and gets blown out, so they need to be regularly re-packed. Goose
Magnawake Posted August 1, 2009 #19 Posted August 1, 2009 So the Bub's are designed to be repacked? Good to know. So I still need to remove the Bub's I guess. I also like quite pipes. A little rumble is good though. The pipes kinda cover up the Whine at 56-65 mph.
V7Goose Posted August 1, 2009 #20 Posted August 1, 2009 (edited) So the Bub's are designed to be repacked? Personally, I have no idea - never looked at them. I was just describing how a packable muffler was designed. But someone here will know, or check the manufacturer's web site. I have always found that good glass packs had a really nice, mellow, sound - some volume, but rarely objectionable - but I also never thought they were worth the effort to keep packed. Goose Edited August 1, 2009 by V7Goose
Guest wrench Posted August 1, 2009 #21 Posted August 1, 2009 If I may speak to what I know, yes, the Bub's can be repacked. I have not personally tried this, but have been told by someone that has, that coarse grade steel wool can be used as muffler packing material if you wrap it with screen after packing the baffles. Just be sure to use stainless screen, not plastic or fiberglass! The steel wool apparently doesn't burn out as quick as fiberglass packing. I do know that my info came from a source that has operated a m/c shop for close to 30 years, so I feel that it's "good" information. The Bub's on mine had around 5k on them when I replaced the tips, and there was only enough fiberglass packing left in the right side to hold in the palm of your hand, and none in the left. Oh yeah, and Goose, it ain't worth the effort. Just a reply to your #16 post above.
Sylvester Posted August 1, 2009 #22 Posted August 1, 2009 You haven't heard? H-D's are mostly metric machines these days! Ouch! That hurt.
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